Fuber

5 hours ago, BigTone said:

Put your hand in your pocket and arrange your overdraft to do any better

This isn't the defense you think it is.

4 minutes ago, mozo said:

MA and JL made some really good signings, and also some really good sales. There, I said it.

Did they?

Debatable for me - if you compared profit on disposal of players that they (JL/MA) signed, it'd be close. Even with Webster.

32 minutes ago, exAtyeoMax said:

yes, I was always suspicious of the 'trading model' being paramount in SL's eyes…it's not sustainable, ie returns aren't guaranteed

Would have worked - had we kept streamline with regards to recruitment. But LJ wanted clubs in bag so he got clubs in bag.

Under a different manager it may have worked - but as has been outed at Hibs, LJ is just a pretty poor manager.

23 minutes ago, sh1t_ref_again said:

Fans were quiet happy, when getting excited about new signings under LJ / MA and the money being spent, that got us into the mess, very easy to say it was wrong now with hindsight, then again I can win the lottery every week with hindsight, so not that clever really!

Lucky we have SL who digs into his pockets and covers the spending / mistakes

Plenty of us were pointing out the overspending at the time - for example more than a couple questioned KP signing after DaSilva and Kalas and the point of it all - which was when LJ made the first quip of 'clubs in the bag' approach.

2 hours ago, brad blit said:

I answered a similar question in another thread recently and said this -

"In terms of answering this ‘theoretical’ question in the most basic manner, I think the best player to sell to free up wages would be Wells. Not scored a goal in open play for over 20 games, one of our biggest earners and one of older players. If I was playing Champ Manager, I’d sell him and use his wages (plus revenue from Scott sale) to buy 1 strong quick striker to lead the line (Like Afobe, Akpom) and another young specialised centre back"

Except this isnt CM.

And Wells is at an age where he can easily see out his remaining contract and not wish to move and would require parties to be interested in him in the first instance.

Being blunt, we're in by far a healthy enough position with FFP, in combination with wage reductions in the past 8 months, to allow NP to bring in two players such as those suggested.

We'd take the hit this season, but then have James, King, Williams, and Weimann OOC to rebalance the books, by which point you would hope some academy players such as Yeboah and Araoye or OTC have been blooded fully, or we sign younger players on free to offset (such as was done with Sykes, Naismith).

SL has stupidly got it in his head we can pull a Luton - issue being you need momentum (such as culture AND investment) to pull it off.

50 minutes ago, Spike said:

As I said, I don't think he's as stupid as people think he is, and what I mean by that is people thinking he's stupid enough to bring back a man who didn't work out and many still dislike.
At the time LJ was here he was the very definition of a manager who split the fans, many hated him, many loved him, but ultimately no-one agreed on him. SL has made bad choices, no doubt about that but he's also got this club into the Championship, we're still here, he's developed a better stadium and given us some amazing talent through the fantastic training facilities. I think from a business side he knows what he's doing, from a football side I think he thinks he knows what he's doing but has proven he can make mistakes, however, I think as a businessman he learns from those mistakes and the fact LJ hasn't done anything noteworthy since he's left, the fact so many fans still do not want him and the fact that as much as he may be a friend of SL, SL is at least smart enough to know that LJ isn't going to work. LJ was backed more than any manager in my lifetime and I've just turned 42 and he still failed, if SL brings him back then it would just confirm to me that he's looking to sell very soon and needs a man he can trust to do as he's told to ensure the club isn't overspending, if that happens I think SL would receive insane backlash from the fans and the club wouldn't be a sellable asset if he unites the fans against him and the manager to a point where they rebel.

I don't think we'll be seeing LJ, I think we'll most likely be seeing a man come in who is willing to work with no budget though and will do as he's told, that's when I think the fans will really see how well Pearson has done here and will miss him when he's gone.

Minor correction for the bold section. Keith Dawe got us back in the Championship together  with Keith Burt overseeing the reorganisation after relegation, and appointed Cotts. Believe he stepped down 2018/2019 with JL taking over.

15 minutes ago, Red-Robbo said:

 

Trifecta suggests they are winners.  

They are - in SLs view.

They're an aneurysm for the club however.

36 minutes ago, Fordy62 said:

I’m so scared that SL may bring LJ back. Please reassure me. 

No. 

Holden and Macca as well - the trifecta.

I would (walk) and can't work out why he hasn't. 

Think that speaks more to NPs character and faith in the squad.

The fact however, that I can't see why he hasn't walked speaks volumes about SLs ownership.

2 hours ago, ORANGE500 said:

I hardly doubt that would finance a stadium rebuild and state of the art training facilities not to mention the many millions spent on transfer fees and  wages which can all be directly attributed to Steve Lansdown's investment.Without the aforementioned Mr Lansdown you and a few other's on this forum wouldn't be  constantly  moaning and whinging  about a Championship club It's debarable whether there would be a club at all.

Problem being said infrastructure should have been the first things SL should have resolved. Not 16 years into his tenure.

As for the transfers spending and wages - directly caused by nepotism and poor planning followed by long periods of cost cutting that ultimately led the club back to league one - this time the exception due to Tinnion (academy) and Pearson (having faith in said players).

The stadium aspect doesn't mean a lot when due to the structure and layout (whole atyeo etc) we tend to have the atmosphere of a nunnery.

As for whether there would be a club - that's just falsely portraying SL as a Messiah. He's a mediocre owner with a lot of money and not much planning. Closest (former and current) owners to him in the EFL in terms of spending but lack of return are Chansiri and Mel Morris.

2 hours ago, Davefevs said:

Got his hands full sorting out JL’s messes

This - basically.

@Davefevs reckon he's duck taped and bound JL in the janitor's closet and hid the crayons while the sorts out the away kit?

Actually optimistic if we can be able to get McCrorie back fit.
McLeary. McCrorie, Vyner, Dickie, Pring, Naismith, TGH, Knight - as a base and spine could be quite tasty.

1 hour ago, Jose said:

Why do you keep saying big spending? We’ve spent more in the summer?

They're spending plenty on wages between the likes of Vinagre, Twine, Delap, and Connolly. And thats not even counting the sheer number of signings (and over £11m spent) last season.

2 minutes ago, Malago said:

Their owner has backed the manager, ours hasn’t.  Simple as.

Their owner also has a clear idea of what he's doing.

30 minutes ago, Andy082005 said:

Another club with countless issues - resolve issues before us - and start to progress 

Key factor being - change in ownership. Ergo immediate outlook.

3 hours ago, mozo said:

Despise all the concerns about transfer activities, and worrying attacking form...

I'm excited about this one. Come on boys!!!

Last league outing before the window closes. Lets see what happens.

14 minutes ago, maxjak said:

"DON'T THINK IT MATTERS WHO'S IN CHARGE"   Sorry i have no intention of getting involved in a discussion about the merits of NP..........But really?     Your'e statement is just ludicrous?  Tactics, Recruitment, Motivation, Standard   of coaching, Analysing the opposition, Team selection, organising scouting, Dealing with the Chairman/Owner, Contact's & Contract's etc, etc.......Of course it doesn't matter who the manager is? Ha!    Tell that to Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham? 

I'm in no way saying NP is god's gift to management, but I'd argue he had earned some credit with the off pitch improvements to have a go this season with at least some of the money bought in.

My point is that if we go off of the fact we're at the declared upper echelons of our designated wage budget - and the noises SL has made recently - it points towards stagnation, which can greatly influence over-arching club culture.

Look at what happened under Millen through to O'Driscoll. It took significant (for League 1) investment from the Baldock sale and Cotts hauling this club by the scruff of its neck until that slide arrested.

1 minute ago, BUTOR said:

So just write off a whole season three games in? Far, far too early for this talk. 

Think it was written off before it even began with our recruitment since selling Scott was confirmed.

That'll only change for me personally if we sign a keeper and a forward.

Too little depth.

5 minutes ago, The hand of RO'D said:

Excited with the prospect of Nige potentially leaving after this season?

Controversial post I know. Now, don’t get me wrong, the job he has done to this point has been great. He has trimmed the wage bill and has had limited funds at his disposal since he’s arrived which could be detrimental to how his success will be perceived in years to come. Look at when Leicester won the premier league, a lot of credit came Niges way from the players who were involved who said if it wasn’t for Nige sorting issues behind the scenes they wouldn’t have had that success. Are we at a similar crossroads?

The football since he’s taken over hasn’t been great. We had terrible form at home for a long time, struggled to take the game to the opposition and have treaded water in mid table for his reign. Has Nige sorted the club out off the pitch but has subsequently ran his course with the club? Is SL ready to take the plunge in another manager with fresh ideas who will bring, in my opinion, a much needed footballing identity to the club? Perhaps why we’re seeing the purse strings tightened after the sale of Scott & Semenyo?

Entitely my opinion but I feel we need a new coach, not a manager, with a clear footballing identity and style of play to take us to the next level.

Dont think it matters who is in charge.

Nige has done well with the tools he has - we have an aging squad in some areas who are more than likely not up to another season at this level (James, King, Wells, Weimann), but all are technically limited - not many have much end product and those that do (Naismith, Conway) have been, or are currently, injured.

Not many managers and coaches have a set style - and those that do specialise don't have much adaptability, Russell Martin springs to mind.

The risk for me is allowing Nige to run down his contract - in that players could down tools as they will be aware he has no owner backing thereby disturbing the culture built that took years to sort.

If we were looking to replace him, it would've made more sense to sack him or mutually part end of last season with a replacement (and associated targets with what Scott money was available) lined up - also allowing the likes of King to either leave or move into coaching the U21s further reducing wage budget spending.

Think we'll just have to sit and watch what happens.

12 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

That's an idea.

Could do naming rights for Ashton Gate verbatim and then each individual stand if we want to go down that road.

Wouldn't be a game changer at this level (IMO) but it all helps..and should enable a bit more to be spent on the team.

Sat on the South Stand, without a name, for how long now?

1 minute ago, Sleepy1968 said:

My nightmare scenario is that we end the season newly managerless, with no preparation made for a replacement manager. Temporarily appoint one of the coaches, who isn't  able to make any signings (as we don't know what the new gaffer wants), interview a few likely candidates by end of next August, before our CEO utters those immortal words ...

If we promote Euell from within. I'm off to support Manor Farm.

35 minutes ago, RedRoss said:

And why couldn't that be the other way round? Is it inconceivable that Nigel may want to retire? (By the way for clarity I'm not suggesting that either) surely that's equally plausible. Just because his contract hasn't been discussed to be extended doesn't mean its because SL is not renewing NP's contract due some issue.

Contract doesnt need to expire in leiu of a retirement decision. Nothing prevents giving NP a season extension this summer - he could still, if he so wished, retire at the end of this season.

2 hours ago, Port Red said:

Didn't Nige say the same last week about being up to the budget on wages, he has already signed one since and another in Murphy is due in imminently.

I'm hoping too that it's more bluff than fact.

Thats assuming WBA arent paying a portion of the wages. Which may be why there's a decent chuck initial fee?

2 hours ago, daored said:

 

Personally I would be offering Pearson a new contract , with the mess he inherited I believe he deserves the opportunity to build a team.

However, I don’t get the impression all is well in the relationship between owner, chairman & manager and I’d be surprised if Pearson is in charge of Bristol city next season. As for why not do it now , cost I guess if the board believe we have the squad that will be in no danger of relegation why go through the expense of replacing Pearson & coaching staff? 

This has a massive risk of completely undoing all the work beehind the scenes, from the squad/club culture aspect if true - echoes of close-season 20/21 all over again. Why would players give 110% for a manager if they know he wont be there next season?

From that perspective - as others have echoed - if I was NP, I'd step aside now if not being backed. And from the club perspective it makes less sense, as may as well transition to a new manager now if they (CEO/Ownership) aren't happy with the dynamic.

Seems like especially poor planning if it turns out to be true. Could it work? - Sure. But much riskier than need be.

50 minutes ago, brad blit said:

I was thinking this last night in regards to TGH loan move - it says a deal was "option to buy included" but who has the final say on this?

For example, if he has a successful year and City decide to activate the pre agreed amount (apparently 1.3 million) do West Brom still have to agree to the deal, or is it solely up to City whether we continue with the pre agreed deal?

 

Solely up to the purchasing club. Option in the contracted agreement of the transfer. 

Kulusevski is an example -- his option was automatically triggered based on an appearance clause - Juventus had no way to cancel it.

2 minutes ago, maxjak said:

Spot on.............a forward who knows how to hold the ball up and bring others into the attack would be a good start?

Aware that people don't like a target man on here, mostly due to the long ball stigma - but personally feel its what we desperately need at the minute.